Chapter 13 – Birthday Fiasco

'Summer 26th

'twas a great day. I was a little upset yesterday 'cos I didn't get to see the Fireworks Festival. I went to accompany Keira half the day after mining. It was worthy though since she starts to warm up to me now. Maybe it's that curry? I think so. Claire had a hard time to persuade Phantom Skye to teach us how to cook an Ultimate Curry and we had a hard time to learn it. He didn't demand much payment, just some veggies and curry powder. I made a curry specially for Keira and she liked it. I'm glad she's happy. Well, enough blabbering. Back to the topic.

Today was such a red-letter day. Claire, despite being busier than bees, managed to find some time to celebrate my birthday. The party was splendid… Or so… I think…'

Pete dragged his feet to the waterfall. After filling his mythic watering can up, he drank the water. He's so damn thirsty. It occurred to him on how Keira could live deep within the mine with neither food nor water. Is she even a human? After he recovered some stamina, he got up and made his way to his newly-expanded house.

As he entered the house…

"SURPRISE!"

Pete was 'ambushed' right at his front door. He looked around to see the house decorated with party stuff.

On the table, there was a huge blueberry cake with two large candles and four small candles. He spotted some familiar faces in the house other than his dear sister, Claire. To the most right was a brunet woman who had her hair tied in a ponytail. Standing at Claire's right side was a brown-haired woman who donned a bandanna while a blond-haired man stood next to her. He sported a cap. Other than those four standing people, Pete spotted some villagers behind them. Thomas, Ann and Cliff from Mineral Town, Marlin, Celia, Vesta, Carter, Flora, Ruby, Nami, Hardy, Galen and Nina. Somehow, Cody, Wally, Chris and Hugh were there too.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETE!"

Claire brought the cake to Pete so that he could blow the flame out. Unfortunately, he blew it too strong that the cream flew and stuck on Claire's face. Claire, exasperated, placed the cake gently on the table before wiping off the cream.

"You're lucky it's your birthday today, Pete," said Claire crossly.

"You've gotten too healthy, Pete! Looks like our weekly jog worth it!" exclaimed Wally.

"Pete! Dad! Next time, take me to jog with you too!" cried Hugh.

Chris patted Hugh's head. "Not yet, Hugh. You still need to practise more before you can run with them."

"But… Mom!"

"They're gonna leave you behind with your speed and stamina right now. Be a good boy and listen to me, okay?"

Hugh pouted. "Okay…"

"That's my boy."

Cody went to Pete. "Hey there, buddy."

"Cody! Didn't expect to see you here," said Pete.

The large, muscular man took out something from his sack. "You always give me ores, so I thought maybe I should make something for you…"

Pete took it. "A seagull sculpture…"

"Yeah…"

"Thanks a bunch, buddy!" Pete grinned.

"This is for you, Pete." Wally handed a dumbbell to him while Chris presented him a new overall. "Well, we'll get going now. We're extra tired today. Let's go, Hugh." The family left.

"I'm quite busy too, Pete…" Cody also left.

The three people who were with Claire approached him. The brunet-haired woman had her right arm across Pete's shoulder and took off Pete's cap while the other male ruffled his hair. The other lady only giggled.

"My man, Pete! You're a grown up now!" exclaimed the blonde.

"So do you, Mark! Hey there Jill! Still as tomboyish as ever! And you, Chelsea, you're still cute, just like the last time I saw you."

"Now now, Pete, will you take back the tomboyish part? Don't make me look bad in front of them!" Jill playfully pulled Pete's ear.

"Jill, don't rip off Pete's ear!" scolded Chelsea. "We came all the way from Sunshine Island to celebrate his birthday, not to attend his funeral."

Everyone shrugged. "Umm… Chelsea sweetie, don't you think that's a little dark joke?" asked Mark.

"Really? I thought it's just fine. Besides, if Jill does rip off Pete's ear, don't you think he'll bleed to death?"

Both Jill and Pete crossed their arms and shook their heads several times. "Chelsea's right. I left my ranch in Mineral Town today just to see you getting old, Pete. Hahaha!"

They laughed.

"Aww… Look at the sweet couple, Galen," commented Nina who was sitting on a cosy sofa next to Galen.

"Ha! I wonder if they'll last as long as us," said Galen.

"They will. I know, they will. Claire told me that Mark's tough to woo, so when that boy asked for Chelsea's hand in marriage, I know it's true."

The old man glanced at Nina. "You're right. After all, we experienced it, right?"

"So now, let's party!" declared Claire.

Celia served her stir fry to Pete and the other guests, while Vesta bragged about her vegetables being the best. Jill could not tolerate the fat woman, so she took the gift she brought for Pete and ripped the wrapper. She opened the large box to reveal lots of pineapples in it. Roughly, she grabbed one and went to the kitchen. Without permission, she cooked a pineapple pudding and served it in front of Pete.

"My pineapples are the best one you'll ever find!" stated Jill as she looked at Vesta at the corner of her eye.

"If yours are truly the best, how come you only place second in the Farmer Fair for that category?" Vesta barked.

"Hmph! I'm showing you some mercy…"

"Actually, ours are the best. Chels…" Mark motioned his wife to take out there newly-harvested corns.

"We'll show you… that… the best corn separates life and death…" Chelsea said with a straight face.

"…Eh?" Everyone went 'toing!'…

"Even if you fall down the mine by 1000 floors, even if you are ambushed by a horde of dark cows, even if both your ears are ripped off, even if you are bleeding to death, have faith in our corns 'cos our corns will relive you!" Mark's wife remarked passionately.

Everyone gaped.

"Let's show them hell!" She screamed with such fiery tone and eyes.

The couple went to the kitchen and started cooking ferociously. The kitchen was a mess by the time they finished cooking. They then served an unusual dish to Pete.

"During our trip coming here, we came across this dish. It's called corn porridge. We modified the recipe to make it fancier. Have a taste." Mark fed Pete.

Flora got up. "This can't be. I have to cook for Pete too."

Carter and Hardy freaked out. "I-I-I-I think you better not, right, Claire?"

"Why not, Carter?" questioned Claire.

Hardy recalled the curry rice Flora gave him to thank him for helping Carter. It was the nastiest dish he ever had. It tasted even worse than the medicine that caused Jill to pass out in Mineral Town hospital when the doctor gave her before.

"See, Claire agrees." Flora started rummaging the fridge and got her hands on some rice balls, curry powder and vegetables.

Carter and Hardy knelt in front of Ruby. "Ruby, please, we beg you! Save our lives!" They cried.

"Oh dear… Is it that bad?" asked Ruby.

"THAT BAD!"

"But, what should I do?"

Nami got an idea. "Maybe you can save the day with your spices!"

"Good thinking!" Ruby and Nami went to Flora.

"THANK YOU RUBY AND NAMI! HARVEST GODDESS BLESS YOU!"

"We'll see whose crops are the best by looking at… COOKINGS!" yelled Vesta. "Celia, bring the stir fry!"

"…Umm… Aunt Vesta… I can't find them…" Celia looked worried. "Marlin, have you seen them?"

Marlin who was sitting while sipping his wine pointed behind her. Celia froze in astonishment.

It was Ann, sitting on the floor with a stack of plates next to her. "Next!"

"Coming up! Corn porridge!" Thomas brought the porridge to Ann.

With the speed of sound, all of the porridge went into her stomach.

"Next!"

"The only one left, is this cake!"

As Thomas tried to lift the cake, five hands smacked his bald head. "DON'T YOU DARE TAKE THE CAKE!" He fell down and cried like a child upon the five farmers' scolding.

"Err… Ann, you ate all the food…" said Cliff.

"Not all, Cliff. See, Flora's cooking some curry rice." She pointed towards the kitchen. "I'm gonna… eat… Cliff!"

Cliff was already at the counter. "Curry rice please!"

"Coming, right up!" answered Ruby. She gave a plate of curry rice to Nami and asked her to serve it.

"Here ya go, Cliff. That would be 250 gold," said Nami.

"…Eh?" Cliff was dumbfounded.

"I'm just kidding!"

"Oh… Hahaha!" Cliff spooned his favourite food and ate it. Upon swallowing it, he dropped the spoon and himself on the floor. He writhed in agony.

"CLIFF!" Ann, Nami and Ruby freaked out.

Hardy went to diagnose him. "This is horrible! He had food poi-!"

A turnip flew into Hardy's mouth. Carter rushed to help him. At the spot where Thomas was sulking, Claire, Jill, Mark, Chelsea and Vesta were still fighting over the best crops. Vegetables and fruits were flying all over the place. A red top hat decorated the blueberry cake after a coconut from Sunshine Island took its place on Thomas' head. The mayor, unconscious, was now flailed around as they were bragging about their strengths. According to Vesta, the strongest one grows the best crops.

"Ruby! What's happening?!" Flora yelled.

"What?!"

The pot exploded and Flora, Ruby, Nami, Ann, Hardy and Carter were covered in curry. Ann licked some curry that was on her face and… "Blehhh! What is THAT?!"

"Oh dear… Did my spice ruin it?" asked Ruby.

"I'm sure adding some red grass is a good idea," said Flora.

Meanwhile, Hardy was finally free from the turnip, but he now got a cabbage in his mouth.

Ann and Nami shrugged. Ann ate it from her face while Nami became the taster earlier.

Pete and Marlin, who stayed out of trouble were about to eat their slices of cake when some tomatoes hit them. Jill suddenly appeared and stamped their faces with their food.

"See? Courage is the essence of a good crop!" remarked Jill.

Pete took the leftover cream from his plate, got up and pasted it on Jill's face. Claire then took the whole cake and smashed it onto Mark's head. She then pushed him towards Chelsea, so the wife was also stained. Mark, irritated, threw the cream sticking on him towards Claire, but she dodged it and it hit Vesta instead. They started throwing cream all over the place.

Marlin whose face was cleaned sat back and sipped his wine when a small drop of cream landed into his liquor. A red top hat also landed on his head. Celia who froze from astonishment was still frozen, while Thomas who just woke up lost his consciousness again when Vesta slipped on some cream and fell onto him. Cliff, Ann and Nami were writhing rhythmically. Hardy got another turnip in his mouth and Carter tried to pull it out. Ruby and Flora fell into a state of depression.

Phantom Skye was about to enter through the front door when the door opened and a body was flung to him. The body landed on him, so the others did not see him. It was Mark, who was thrown by Pete and Claire. Mark got up and entered the house, shutting the door behind him. Skye got up. Sighing, he left as the party seemed too much for him. He could not possibly give a present to Pete like this.

Amidst the noise, suddenly, the ground trembled. A hole was formed in the middle of the living room and a head popped out of the hole.

"Ke-Ke-Keira!"

The woman looked blankly at Pete before showing her board to him. 'Happy Birthday!' She handed a blessed Witch Princess Earrings to him before leaving.

"What was that?!" yelled the guests frantically.

"Err…" Pete looked at Claire and Claire looked at Pete.

"Dum-da-da-DAA! I'll bestow upon you one wish for your birthday, Pete!" Harvest Goddess appeared suddenly.

"Make them forget about Keira!" shouted Pete and Claire.

"Ok! Your wish is my command!" The surrounding glowed for a moment. "Toodles!"

Phew…

"What's with that big hole?!" asked Vesta.

"Who cares?! It's enough to fit you in!" Jill kicked her into the hole. Luckily, thanks to the goddess magic, the path leading to Keira's vanished.

They continued partying.

"Aren't they romantic, Galen?" asked Nina whose ladybug hat turned completely red with a small green star on top of it.

Galen laughed. "Yeah…"

'The party turned into a total disaster. Jill forced Mark, Chelsea, Claire and I to pull Vesta out. Marlin had to carry Celia back home. Hardy could not shut his mouth for the rest of the day, literally. Carter had a backache from trying to pull out vegetables from Hardy's mouth. Thomas was traumatized while Ann, Cliff and Nami suffered from food poisoning. The six had to spend their nights at Mineral Town hospital. Ruby slept in the bath to clean herself from the exploded curry while Flora slept in the waterfall. Claire and I along with Mark, Chelsea and Jill spent the whole night cleaning the house. I also sent for Gotz that moment to have him repair our floor.'

"Hey Pete!"

Pete was startled to see Venus appeared in front of him. "What?"

"I got you a new pot."

He went to the kitchen to see a new shiny pot there. "Thanks, Venus!"

"No problem. It's on the house!"

"Many thanks! By the way, what happened to the old one?"

Venus grinned. "It's yummy!"

an: With this chapter concluded, I've introduced every characters available, directly and indirectly, though Barney and Mimi aren't here yet. Or did I miss out anyone? So, I'm now thinking of taking requests for about 3-6 chapters before I continue in winter.^^v